Unknown Relative
by MILESbehind
Summary: Jenny Sheppard kept a secret. One that depended on her staying that way. Forget abut telling Gibbs that he had another daughter. Based after JD. Jen didn't survive. Rated for scenes later on.
1. Chapter 1

NCIS

_Special Agent Gibbs' Desk_

The evening started out quite well, but following this man around was not at the top of her list. Upon first sight, she had shaken in her boots, but now, as she moved closer, she could see the easy going side of him. Her mind wrapped around that as she moved closer, pausing every now and then to see if her judgment was incorrect. So far, so good.

She watched the cell phone clunk against the glass as the Agent in question sat down. Apparently, his view on technology was that of a hater. He showed no sign of looking at her or talking to her. Yet, something pulled her closer. It could have been the natural curiosity she had for this man or the idea from the letter she found hidden in her mother's desk drawer.

He looked the same. There was nothing new from what the picture suggested, but a few wrinkles had shown themselves over the past few years. Her thoughts traveled back to what she saw in the picture. Her mother, the one in red and the man in front of her, only younger, and the Eiffel Tower stood in the background. "That was in Paris," her mother would say, always catching her in her office looking at it.

She traveled back to the present, a smile gracing her lips as she took one more step forward, and tapped her pen on the same glass his cell rested in. He neither looked, not spoke. He just kept jabbing at the keys, squinting at the screen. She moved quickly, moving around his desk, and came up behind him.

"Yes…?" His voice sounded the same as well, though, toneless a little bit more. His eyes squinted as he finally moved his gaze to look up at her. She said nothing as she scooted his glasses towards him and tapped a few keys before moving backwards. He turned as well, eyeing her.

"Aiden…uh…Agent Aiden." She replied, moving to show her badge. The metal glinted lightly and his hand came forward to snatch it from her grasp. His blue-green eyes narrowed a bit before landing on her once more. Slowly, he handed back her badge.

She had barely moved or spoken before he stood, holding his hand up as he went. He neither said, nor motioned to her as he progressed towards the others. They witnessed none of his movement, yet, just as quietly as he got there, his hand moved to strike the tallest male's head.

The crack at his skull was heard even to her, but the words were lost. A chuckle rippled from the female's mouth before she opened it to say something; though, it was, too, lost. The confrontation happened in little time, and as she estimated, Gibbs made his way towards the elevator.

Aiden moved then, slowly taking steps toward the now bickering couple. Throughout the whole development, the other agent seemed to grow even more engrossed with something on his computer to even notice her. As she moved closer, one of the two eventually turned to greet her.

"Shalom, Miss…?

"Agent Aiden…uh…" She decided once more to skip on her last name, and instead inserted a question. "Does he do that often?"

They both nodded, though, the man's gaze seemed to be glued on something lower than her face. Just as she opened her mouth to object, an elbow jabbed at the man's stomach, causing him to double over.

"I'm Ziva David and this is Agent Dinozzo." She moved her elbow back to her side, stepping to the side a little as Tony bent forward and then straightened. She jabbed with her elbow, again, as Agent Dinozzo opened his mouth to say something. His hand massaged his chest as he dug up the courage to finish.

"I was just going to ask why you got to have a first name and I didn't." He explained, moving with Ziva as she turned to return to her desk. The pair seemed in tuned with each other, reading themselves and acting right before they did something. Unknown to her; the other agent had looked up and now still held his gaze there.

"Hey, Probie." Aiden looked up at the mention of a new nickname, but ducked as a paper wad flew across the gap she assumed was Agent Dinozzo's range. She glared at Dinozzo, but ended up turning quickly as she heard someone stammering behind her.

"Uh…um…sorry. What Tony?" The still unknown agent asked, moving to hide behind his computer screen once more. Another paper wad met his forehead without warning, though; this "Probie" never seemed to look up.

"Wanted to get your attention off of our visitor. She…" He paused as he slid his gaze toward Aiden's leaving backside. His attention once more diverted towards McGee again as he felt something bounce off the side of his cranium. He turned quickly towards Ziva.

"Miss David are you protecting McGeek?" This time he moved towards her, glaring and offering the Dinozzo smile. Her head popped up at the mention of her name a curious expression lining her face.

"Tony, you know very well I did not throw that." She barked back, leaning once more into her paper work, grumbling something else. Aiden prepared another ball underneath the desk she occupied, getting ready for another round.

"Then who did?" Tony's eyes scanned the room, looking back and forth over his two colleagues and over the new comer. His sight returned to Ziva and another ball hit him once more. Quickly, it spun to look at McGee.

"Uh...No. "Probie's hand lifted to point at Gibbs' desk and its occupant. Aiden kept her face as straight as possible as she caught Dinozzo's stare and replied to his earlier question.

"You are really blond inside, are you not, Dinozzo?"

"You." He said, moving quickly towards the front of Gibbs' desk. She seemed undisturbed, much like Gibbs when he sat there. Wait a minute…

The blues eyes matched Gibbs; the poker face did too, but the red hair, and the delicate jaw. She looked more like Jenny Sheppard than Gibbs. Yet, something was definitely there that resembled him. Maybe the way she sat, the way she stared back, or maybe the fact that even as Gibbs strolled into the office, he neither fussed nor even looked at her odd. She was sitting at his desk; yet, he said nothing as he leaned over the back of the chair and whispered into her ear.

She didn't reply, but kept the same straight face as she followed whispered directions Gibbs was uttering over her shoulder. Quickly, she moved to type the commands into the screen, pulling it up on the plasma as she did.

"That is what I got from Director Stanton and Commander Sullivan, but, unfortunately, Assistant DA McMillan was gone for the weekend. Should be back late Sunday or Early Monday at the latest." Aiden spoke, using the shortened version. Gibbs, McGee, Ziva, and Tony gathered around the plasma, each studying a different piece of evidence.

Gibbs ventured away from the group, pulled a file from his desk, and pulled a photo from it. Once again, he ventured towards the Plasma and returned to the group, without saying a word, and held it up next to the Colonel's face.

"McGee, find the records of Colonel Howard's flights. Ziva and Tony…" He turned, leaving the small cubicle. The last two understood what that meant and quickly grabbed their gear.

"On your six boss." They both replied, shrugging on there back packs and entering the elevator.


	2. Chapter 2

Aiden stayed behind as usual, preferring to keep out of the way, but as she had seen earlier...Dinozzo had taken a long while to respond to her comment. Just the thought of someone thinking of her identity was of some hope to throw off the ever boring sight of her fathers.

Indeed the infamous Abby Suctio would automatically know; though, she held her tongue whenever the scientist was close. She held an uncanny sense of attention and memory. That was one thing she could deal without.

Yet, something also bothered her. Why hadn't her mother taken her anywhere close to NCIS? Gibbs...maybe, but he looked harmless. Except to Agent Dinozzo. The head slaps had to hurt something in there, but something else was odd too. The woman beside him, Ziva David, had this look or air as you might say. She definitely was one to avoid.

She eyed their departure until a well manicured hand came into view. She jumped back a little, bringing herself back to the present once more.

"Yes? Oh...uh...Hi Abby. McGee is over there." She pointed with her pen and the young scientist looked that way, but didn't move.

"Yeah, I know. Just spoke to him. Look Aiden. I...uh...got the results you needed." She whispered the last part, but it was too late. McGee had wandered closer upon seeing the two girls whispering.

"What results?" He asked, this time without hesitance. He seemed to be more comfortable around Abby. Maybe something had happened to them both. Well, just another cause to look through her mother's journal.

Abby had scooted over and pointed at McGee, trying her hardest at the Gibbs' stare, but not unsettling Tim. He looked back and forth between Aiden and Abby before moving one step back.

"Abby...uh...I'm sorry...uh...I'll be at my desk." His stammering was back. Abby's shoulders lifted lightly before she turned to look at Aiden, who still held the same look as before. _Man....she's got her father's poker face._

"I'm still curious on how my...uh...Director Sheppard handled Gibbs." Aiden cut in, moving out from behind the desk and towards the Plasma. McGee's head lifted and his gaze shifted back and forth between Aiden and Abby. It was odd on the similarities that Aiden and Director Sheppard shared, but he would keep that to himself. No doubt Tony would have fun about this later.

"She didn't. It was more like she tolerated him." Abby replied, adding her normal energeticness to it. She seemed unusually happy, like she learned something new. Aiden eyed her, arching an eyebrow at the scientist. It would never occur to her on how much Abby knew. Her movements were quiet as she turned and exited the cubicle, leaving McGee and Aiden to ponder the relative case.

McGee thought over his chances with this new agent and slowly stepped forward, holding the folder in front of himself as a sort of barrier. He hoped she was more towards the gentle side when it came to approaches...and that she had nothing in common with Ziva David. Even after three years of working with her, she still had the scary, indestructible air about her. Well, at least to him. Tony and Gibbs had no problem teasing her.

Throughout his thoughts, he had yet to notice that he had approached Aiden, and she had turned and stared right back, waving her hand in front of his face. It took him awhile to regain his focus, but with a few blinks and a shake of his head, it slowly returned.

"Uh...Agent Sh-Aiden...I have some circumstantial evidence that leads me to...uh...believe that the Colonel might have done it, but...uh..." Shesh, the stuttering was a problem. She eyed him, replacing the poker face like before.

"But what, Agent McGee?" She asked. He played with the edge of the folder, once more lost on words and in his thoughts. Carefully, she pried the folder from his grip and leafed through it. Her attention was grabbed by the pattern of his flights. Her head lifted briefly as McGee spoke up once more, but lowered it to read the report.

"But...uh...He...he never...flew over...the dump area." She nodded, never looking up at him, just keeping her gaze on the map before her.

"Not even close..." She murmured, moving to the plasma. Her head lifted quickly and she moved towards Gibbs computer. Her fingers typed over the keys, the folder balancing dangerously on the tip of her free hand. McGee stared in amazement. For someone he guessed was related to Gibbs or Director Sheppard, she had a lot of talent around computers and electronics.

He disappeared into his thoughts once more, though, followed Aiden with his eyes as she continued to mess around with the info. She had the looks of Jenny. He was sure of that. He would always remember her to be on the slight side, pretty, and that red hair. Yep, that's what had him. That hair. He never knew if it was dyed or natural.

Another thing was the gray-blue of her eyes. They were a match to the Director's, and her facial structure was the same. Trim jaw line, high cheek bones, and that annoying habit to lift an eyebrow when she was impatient or annoyed. Those were exactly like Jenny Sheppard.

He moved closer as she stilled in front of the computer screen. The look on her face was of pure confusion, like something was dawning on her. Carefully, he approached and looked over her shoulder. The schematics of the flight plan, the dimension of the plane, and the wind direction was covering the screen.

Aiden looked over her shoulder as she felt the rush of air touch it. McGee was standing there, eyeing the screen and her work, matching the listing he had on the piece of paper and her work on the screen.

"Have you added in the body's weight, height, and where he was found?" McGee asked, moving his gaze to her's. He had a new respect for her. Not just for her genius act of computer mambo jumbo, but also for the fact that she hadn't actually ruined the computer in the process, much like Gibbs or Jenny would. Somehow, he knew, they were related.

"Uh…No. I was trying to find out if the biplane he flew was strong enough to resist the wind gust we had that day. What I'm seeing here is that he had to fly pretty high or have a master's hand when dealing in this particular area." She clicked the mouse on an area and zoomed in. "From what I'm seeing now…is...adding in the weight, height, and point of landing…" She clicked a few more buttons and transferred it to the Plasma. "With the wind gust as high as fifteen miles per hour, he could have done it."

McGee stood in wonder, his gaze glued to the screen. He never turned around as Gibbs came in; fuming about his only suspect was the airplane. Aiden hid behind the computer screen, like McGee before, as he came closer to the plasma.

"Uh…Boss. Hi…uh…we…we...were…uh…" McGee struggled, and as Aiden watched, Gibbs turned towards the Agent. Just by that look, and the feeling in her gut, she knew what was coming. As the hand lifted, she stood and entered the space between them, placing her hand on top of Gibbs'.

"What he was trying to say was that we found something." She moved her gaze from the blue-green ones to the screen and began. "Calculating in the dimensions of the plane, the body, and the wind direction/speed, we found out something."

Gibbs flicked his gaze to McGee and then to Aiden before moving them upwards towards the stairs to the Director's office. Then turning to look at the plasma. He motioned for her to continue as he stepped over to his desk.

"With the position of the body, we found that it is…" She paused and pressed play. The computer program began to buffer before showing the schematics of the plane and how it was entirely possible that Colonel Snyder could be the murder. "…highly possible that he did it."

Ziva and Tony looked at the new comer, mouths agape at what she had processed in the short time that they were gone. Ziva was the first to recover, and automatically, her gaze turned to McGee. He quickly shook his head, and pointed to Aiden.

Meanwhile, Tony still eyed the newer agent, though, he had closed his mouth. Okay…she was a McGee in technology, a Gibbs in the emotions, and Jenny in looks. But…who was she? He snapped out of his trance as he felt the hard connection of his boss's hand with the back of his skull.

"Bring him in Dinozzo." Was all Gibbs stated before he disappeared up the stairs to the Director's office.


	3. Chapter 3

Gibbs moved slowly up towards the Director's office, taking his time, and watching how his agents worked. McGee seemed to be settled in, unlike earlier when he hid behind his computer screen. Dinozzo and Ziva had soon disappeared to take Colonel Snyder into custody. And…the newest Agent. What was her name?

Aiden. That's it. Aiden…god. When was his memory ever impaired to forget anyone's last name? He came to a stop at the bridge, leaned against the railing, and looked to the man already there. There was no doubt that Director Vance had put her there for a reason, but he wanted to know why.

"She requested it, Jethro. "The Director said, flicking his gaze to the gray haired man beside him. He didn't wait for a response, as he knew not one was coming. For as long as he worked her, he didn't expect a reply back, but this time he would be surprised.

"Why?" Jethro asked, never taking his sight from Aiden, who stood behind McGee, watching as he typed commands into the computer. When he had first saw her, he was amazed. There was no body that looked as alike to Jenny Sheppard as the young woman who now worked for him.

"Because she has connections." Director Vance said, and left it at that. Jethro heard footsteps walk away, and he knew that it would be left at that. If he wanted answers, he would have to ask her instead. It was going to be a long day.

Aiden watched out of the corner of her eye as her father spoke little words with the Director. Vance never seemed to move his gaze from her, and Gibbs was just the same; but as soon as one left, she felt the tension in her shoulders increase. It was going to be a long day.

She stood as Gibbs came closer, moving casually towards the elevator, and a quick glance gave her the insight that Gibbs was following. _Damn…I can't lose him._ If she tried, it would look like she had something to hide, and she did.

As she heard the soft ding of the elevator arriving, she felt the presence of the man. Her thoughts reeled as she held in a breathe, hoping that the elevator held Tony and Ziva coming back from picking up the suspect, but, as the silver doors opened, her hopes failed.

A slight smile came to Gibbs' lips as he saw that no one occupied the elevator. A disappointment that his agent hadn't returned yet, but the satisfaction that he could stop the trip and get his answers. As soon as the doors closed, he readied himself to push the button, but as he reached out, he felt the slight pressure on his hand.

Instead, she pressed it and moved to lean against the opposite side of the small space. She eyed him, keeping her eyebrows in one position instead of the need to raise it. That would just give more hints than what her mother already gave her.

"You were going to reach for it, but…for what?" She asked, crossing her arms across her chest. A sigh left his lips and he, too, crossed his arms before leaning against the other side of the space.

"You stopped me from slapping McGee. Why?" He asked, looking down to the floor and then to her. A stare match a stare, neither of them relenting.

"He was afraid of you, Gibbs. That makes no reason to punish him for stammering either." She explained, quickly turning and pressing the button. The elevator made more progress towards the Lab, or as Abby was fond of calling it, Labby.

They heard the normal loud music as the doors opened, and as he expected, Abby shouted his name when he crossed the threshold.

"Gibbs! Oh, and Aiden. Do we get to call her probie now?" She excitedly asked, moving to take a sip from her ever present and famous Caf-Pow. Gibbs had to smile at that.

"That is up to you Abbs. " He answered in a whisper as he leaned in to kiss her check. Meanwhile, Aiden stood to the side, watching closely, but never saying a word as they ran through their normal customary hellos. She still went unnoticed as she exchanged banters and Gibbs exited.

Finally, she moved, coming from her hiding spot in-between the Fridge and cabinet that housed her stuffed Hippo. Abby had yet to turn around and announce her, but she didn't mind. She was used to being unknown and unseen.

She crept closer to the scientist and slowly came to stand behind her. As she processed something Gibbs ordered her, Aiden just watched, keeping her breathing to a slight intake and outtake. Only when she turned around and almost ran into her did she notice the new agent.

"Ah…Director Sheppard…" She paused and Aiden's hand immediately came to cover her mouth. Abby did a double take, blinking more than once. Okay, it wasn't Jenny, and the eyes suggested female. _Oh, yeah…_she thought. Aiden was a mix of them both.

She mumbled behind the hand and nothing made sense. Aiden looked around before removing her hand. Abby took in a breath before continuing to speak.

"Sorry there, Aiden. I didn't notice you...and you're probably here for the results…" She didn't wait for a nod or even a reply, but simply turned back around and pulled up something on here screen. Aiden took two quick looks at it before handing the scientist a caf-pow.

"Thank you, Abby." She voiced, running a hand down her face and walking back and forth between the door and the computers. Abby looked at her more closely. Even with the results in, she had known there was a similarity between her boss and the girl before her.

"Yeah, well, I have just a question, Aiden. Are you going to tell him?" The question just blurted out of her mouth, and from the look she received, Aiden wasn't prepared to tell him either. Well, she wasn't going to the messenger. Nope, it was not going to be this girl. She wanted to keep her head where it was: on her shoulders.

_Autopsy_

_Ducky's Desk_

Gibbs stood over Ducky's shoulder, watching as the two girls talked. He had no clue on what they were talking about. Was she pregnant? Was she in trouble? He would have to ask her that. He stepped away from there and quickly left the cold, freezer like room.

Ducky, meanwhile, watched with uninterrupted attention. He knew exactly what they were talking about. There was no doubt. Just the sight of this woman named Aiden had him on his toes. He knew there was someone to keep Jennifer busy at home, but he never guessed it would be a child; Let alone one that shared the DNA with Gibbs.

"Oh, dear." He voice aloud to himself. He hurriedly cut of the small camera and pulled his wallet from his desk drawer. At the time, he never knew what the small card was for, maybe contact information just in case she was kidnapped again, but as he looked at it once more, he came to realize. Jen wasn't protecting herself from future trouble, but the child she carried.

"Oh, dear. Oh, Dear. Oh, dear…." He once again said aloud, moving towards the doors to catch Jethro.


	4. Chapter 4

_Back at Central Office_

_Gibbs' Desk_

The whole point of joining up with NCIS was to get information, not to be put to work, but as she sat at Gibbs' desk, she found it hard to believe that the man could even read the tiny hand printing he had. Well, considering that he had to touch his nose to the computer screen to actually see it properly, she could let the idea slip in. She typed away, squinting back at the tiny post-it in the corner of her screen than to the screen itself. Inwardly, she hoped that she didn't develop the same cornea problem.

Tony and Ziva watched quietly from their desk, looking back and forth between themselves and Aiden, silently speaking their own ideas. As quietly as she could, which I might add was quite stealthy, Ziva made her way closer to Tony, all the while, keeping her eyes on their newest guest.

"Hey Zee-vah, do you think….?" Tony began before she turned to him and covered his mouth with her hand. The eye connection they shared, told them many things, sharing the ideas they had, and all without voicing them.

"But who?" Ziva asked, drawing out the syllable as she spotted Gibbs exiting the elevator. Quickly, she removed her palm and turned the back of her head away from the isle, but Tony wasn't as fast.

Aiden jolted when she heard the crack against Tony's skull, but said nothing as they exchanged words. Tony, all the while, held the back of his head. Ziva, on the other hand, looked guilty, but of what? From the glances she had managed to sneak, it looked like they were conversing like they normally would; though, the staring into each other's eyes wasn't what she thought.

He head quickly snapped back to look at the screen as Gibbs made his way from them to her, taking his time before he settled in behind her. His coffee rest on the desk, his palms on the arm rest of his chair, but, yet, he never moved it nor voiced an opinion.

Slowly, Aiden looked up, meeting his blue gaze with her own. There she met what she thought was curiosity, but later, as she would find out, it was not. With mild speculation, Aiden stood, quickly trying to move out of his way; but as she pushed herself around him, he caught her elbow. That tiny gesture had the whole team stunned.

They had watched from the beginning when he had entered and then to now where their boss had laid a hand on the new girl's elbow and began leading her towards the elevator. Even as the two passed Tony and Ziva, they said nothing, and not even the trained assassin could get a hint of what they were up to.

Tony approached Ziva's desk then, moving slowly and quietly, all the while looking at the pair of retreating backs. The other agent didn't even move as he came up behind her, but as he tapped her shoulder, she jumped in surprise.

"Tony!" She shouted, glaring up at him from the floor. Dinozzo just grinned and looked down, eyeing the way she had feel. Somehow, during the whole thing, she had tripped over something. Now, she sat on the floor, her ankles crossed and brown gaze shooting daggers up at him.

"How'd you get down there, Zee-vah?" He asked, a slight swell of laughter escaping his lips. It was just too funny not to laugh at it. The highly trained, sneaky assassin turned NCIS Agent had spooked and ended up on the floor.

She scowled, aiming her booted foot for the open area between his legs. Tony caught on and promptly closed them, easing a hand down towards her to pull her up. Ziva took it, but instead pulled him down with her. With his legs closed and attention else where, he fell quite easily, landing right beside her.

Gibbs and Aiden approached, arriving at almost at the same time. As Ziva and Tony looked up, they noticed two pairs of blue eyes boring into them. Tony found it hard not to voice a certain question aloud, but Ziva had no problem.

"Gibbs, did Jenny ever have a…" Aiden, fearing the up coming question, quickly pointed out something else, but it lost quite a lot of interest in just a few short moments. A groan escaped Aiden as she backed away quickly. She didn't want to be here without back up when Gibbs found out.

She hurriedly picked up her pace and raced down the stairs towards the only person, hopefully, to know. As she entered the room, loud music blasted into her ear drums, but it didn't matter at the moment. She had to find a certain scientist before….

"Abby!" She heard behind her in the same masculine voice Gibbs always seemed to use when he was mad. She twirled around, cringing as she came face to face with him. Abby came out of her office, a smile on her face, but as she caught the scene before her, she paused. There had to be only one reason…

Gibbs stared at them both, not speaking until he was sure they were ready to crack. If this even pertained to what he saw before, he was sure as hell going to find out what it was. From what he could tell, it had to be something important. They neither spoke about it, nor glanced at each other, and with each passing minute he saw both their faces transform into what he assumed was his own stare.

"I want answers, Abby. Now." He stated, pointing to them both after he set his coffee down on the table near by. This time, they both shared a glance, and what he assumed was a nod from Aiden. With a sigh, Abby turned and hit one button. Just one button to bring up the lab results from this morning.

Aiden sure as hell didn't want him finding out this way, but with the incident upstairs with Ziva and Tony, she guessed it was inevitable. She stepped to the side, took in a deep breath, and waited. Waited for the moment when he would turn to her and look her over, test the waters, ask Abby if he lab work was conclusive, and like always, Abby would contort and say that she was insulted.

Gibbs glanced at the computer screen then to Abby, who transferred it to the plasma. He moved that way, brushing past Aiden as he did. He hadn't noticed she had prepared; though, he did notice her tense up. As he drew closer, the words _Match Found_, _Jenny Sheppard_, and _Aiden Sheppard _popped up to his mind first. Then it hit him.

He turned around, taking his time to gather his thoughts as he approached the girl. He watched as she met his stare, squared her shoulders, and crossed her arms over her chest. Something he used to do when he was young or facing an opponent. He eyed the red hair, the blue eyes, the delicate turn of her jaw, the way she raised an eyebrow at something that was annoying her or trying her patience.

A small smile came to his lips then. He should be amazed, maybe angry that this type of secret was kept from him, but, when he looked down inside his memories, he always seemed to know. Raising a palm, he gently cupped her cheek, watched as she didn't flinch away.

"How…." He began before Aiden cut him off, moving away from him and towards the other side of the room. She pulled something off the end of Abby's seemingly endless table tops and once more approached him.

"Her journal. She….uh….it was the only thing I had left of her."


End file.
